COUNTY HEALTH HIRES ‘DUAL-ELIGIBLE’ CONSULTANTS: $90K TO BE ‘READY’!

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, in their infinite wisdom and apparent eagerness to burn through taxpayer cash, recently signed off on a breathtaking $90,000 'readiness grant' for their Health Department. No, this isn't for a new, life-saving medical breakthrough or even an actual treatment plan; it's for 'training and clinical support' to implement something called a 'Dual Special Needs Plan,' or D-SNP for those hip to the jargon. Apparently, after decades of operating a Health Department, our local bureaucrats still need a hefty consulting fee to get 'ready' to administer even more programs. Who knew being 'ready' was a paid position?

This latest expenditure, tucked away in an Administrative Item on the Supervisors' agenda, is a shining example of how our local government truly functions. Instead of focusing on core services, they're busy creating endless layers of bureaucracy, each costing more than the last. The stated purpose is to help people 'dual-eligible' for Medicare and Medi-Cal, which sounds noble enough, but the solution is always the same: throw money at consultants to teach the existing staff how to *implement* something. It’s a perpetual-motion machine of unearned salaries and 'readiness' grants, always spinning, rarely producing anything tangible.

The real kicker? The Board promptly declared this $90,000 spend-a-thon does not constitute a 'Project' under CEQA guidelines. Of course, it doesn't! Because CEQA is only for stifling small businesses and energy projects, not for government agencies inventing new ways to spend your money on 'fiscal activities' that don't involve 'any commitment to any specific project.' It's a bureaucratic sleight-of-hand: the money disappears, the consultants get paid, and the public is left wondering if anyone in county government can actually do their job without a designated 'readiness' expert holding their hand. Perhaps the Supervisors should get a D-SNP Readiness Grant for themselves, to learn how not to continually raid the public purse for such nonsense.